Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The last time I saw stuffed bell peppers, they were sitting in a steam table in a hospital cafeteria. I didn't get them, but it was tempting. I really love the flavor profile of stuffed bell peppers, or as they say in hospital cafeterias, I like the flavor of stuffed bell peppers.

The sweet bitterness of the roasted pepper, along with the aromatic, meaty filling makes for a very nice plate of food. And of course, any time you can get your meat, vegetable, and starch in one neat package, you have to love that.

As I say at the beginning of the video, I'm still playing around with different fillings for this recipe before deciding on which version goes in the cookbook. This is pretty close however, and no matter what you use, the technique for prepping the peppers is basically the same.

Many people boil the peppers for a few minutes first. I don't, and have never felt the need to. Also, many recipes call for browning the beef first, then making the stuffing. I may try that out, but I've always used raw meat, and think it's probably a better way to go.

The biggest potential change to the recipe you see in the clip is the meat. For the cookbook, I'll probably use a sausage and beef blend. More flavor, and more fat, usually means a better recipe, but stay tuned for the final word on that.

The ingredients below are exactly what I used, but I've made notes next to some with suggestions. If you give these a try, and come up with some incredible combination, please let me know. Enjoy!

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35 comments:

Jack Parker
said...

This might be a silly question, Chef, but what other things are peppers stuffed with? I've always seen a rice and meat mix. For some reason that doesn't appeal to me but stuffing peppers does. I just can't imagine what else to experiment with. Any ideas? A single stuffed pepper seems like the perfect portion size for a meal.

BTW, in Iranian (Persian) cuisine, we always add a bit of Turmeric to the mix. we also keep the stem on the peppers as a sort of handle! ...we do stuffed aubergins and stuffed big white onions as well! try them ! (take a look at here for aubergine version, i'm afraid the text is in persian : http://matbakhchi.blogfa.com/post-25.aspx)

Sea foods are great as a base for the stuffing as well (shrimp, salmon, etc). Also, when we make these with meat and rice, there's always a very, very generous pouring of olive oil on top of it. I mean, you know that hissing and sizzling the peppers make right after you pull them off the oven? They're happy because they know the olive oil is coming... Indulge them! ;-)

I'm a new visitor here and I LOVE the video format. I've never made stuffed peppers before, which is strange, considering I like everything that goes in them. I am definitely inspired to try and look forward to experimenting with fillings!

I've tried various stuffed bell peppers in the US, but none of them really appealed to me. Mostly because I find the Hungarian version so much better (and so did any American who tried my cooking). The basic difference is that we use a pepper with thinner meat to stuff. This pepper also has spicy versions, which adds extra flavor, if one so desires. But the thick meat of the bell pepper really spoils this dish for me.

Green bell peppers, cut in half from bottom to top will look like little boats. Filling is chopped beef, cooked rice, basil, oregano, salt & pepper, mix with crushed tomatoes, Put the peppers in a large frying pan and salt the inside then mound in the meat mixture. Pour the rest of the crushed tomatoes on top, drizzle olive oil and add more basil and oregano and salt & pepper. Cover and let simmer until pepper are tender. Take cover off and continue to cook so the tomato sauce cooks down a bit. Serve over cooked rice.

Stuff long thin green peppers with bread. My mother-in-law did this over 50 years ago and I make it to this day. Italian bread broken in small pieces or cut into cubes, add to that grated Italian cheese, garlic, basil, oregano, salt & pepper. The only liquid is crushed canned tomatoes. When the bread soaks up the liquid and is no longer grainy but holds together, cut the tops off the peppers and dig out the seeds. Stuff peppers with the bread mixture. I use the handle of a wooden spoon to help push the stuffing to the bottom of the pepper. Don't over stuff, leave a little room at the top for expansion. Fry in olive oil turning often until brown on all sides. Today instead of frying you can put them on a sheet pan with sides, with a drizzle of olive oil and bake until peppers are wilted and slightly browned. Sprinkle salt after they are baked/fried, I have always fried. That is how my mother-in-law taught me. Hard to break old habits.

Thanks for the inspiration, Chef John! I made a variation of these for dinner today, and they were deeeelicious! I posted pictures on my friend's blog. http://www.craftybakers.com/2010/03/stuffed-bell-peppers-remix.html

In Turkey we use green capsicum as the red ones have a sweet taste- honestly I don't like this taste either. You may google it typing "etli biber dolmasi" (meat stuffed bell pepper) or the vegetarian version "zeytinyagli biber dolmasi". For the stuffing, we cook the meat a little bit and then add some onion and then some tomato paste. When the meat and onion are a little bit cooked, we add some rice and mix them 2-3 minutes. Then we add some water (for 1 cup of rice 2/3 cup of water)and cook until the rice absorbs all the water. The we generally add parsley and dill. You may add spices and salt as you wish- especially black pepper, Turkish chili and mint. But anyways I liked the idea of cheese and I'll try this version someday =)

Making these tonight, chef! I love these pretty standard beef-filled tomatoes. So yummy.

Even though a few nights ago I made some vegetarian "Mediterranean" peppers with eggplant, feta, san marzano tomates, onions, and herbs-- topped with whole-wheat (panko) breadcrumbs. But I pretty much sauteed the filling myself before baking for like, 20 minutes. I think this method is more time consuming but I'm sure letting everything simmer together is what makes them more delicious.

You have a great foodblog here. I saw one of your videos in Youtube and got myself directed here. I like your comments too and style. Thanks. Will be doing some recipes soon! Have a great day, and happy cooking too!!

I tried this for dinner tonight and it came out delicious...the peppers were so sweet and flavorful and the filling was great...I was worried about not cooking the meat first but it was fine...the rice really absorbed all the flavor...and the pan sauce...with the onions...YUMMY...the balsamic vinegar and the red pepper really push it over the top!!!

I'm currently living in Costa Rica, where chiles rellenos are different from the baked stuffed version that I've done in the U.S. I showed my Costan Rican housemates how to prepare them using your recipe and and cooking them in an electric skillet instead of the oven, and they loved them! We had to use cilantro, as Italian parsley doesn't seem to exist here.